You know one of the oppositions the pagan arabs had towards Islam and Muhammad (pbuh) one of the things they found very hard to accept to believe in was that they would be shown what they did, what they said, that they would be able to see themselves, hear themselves, etc... All their actions and said things would be repeated to them on the day of judgment.

It's funny today on the other hand that we accept this possibility as the norm, we know there is such a thing as cameras, audio/video, microphones, speakers, etc... and what are these inventions compared to the creation of Allah (swt) and the abilities of our creator of all creation?

Valentine's day hah No we Muslims don't celebrate this pagan feast, although some muslims ignorantly do, but this is exactly the kind of thing one needs to think of

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It could have been the splash of red or the overabundance of hearts or the young man in designer jeans that caught his eye, but Sheikh Hamaad stopped under the bold “Valentine’s day Specials” banner, set his shopping basket on the floor and watched the young man battling to select an appropriate gift from the heaps of hearts, teddy bears, and chocolates. Like a busy humming bird he flitted from shelf to shelf struggling to choose.

Sheikh Hamaad approached him as he stood scratching his head, “Asalaamu Alaikum, young man, seems like you’re battling to make a choice.”

“Yes, Moulana, this is more difficult than I thought. And lucky I only have to choose for two of them,” he said, picking up another heart decorated teddy bear, examining the price and putting down with disappointment.

“For your sisters?” the Sheikh asked, feigning innocence.

“Naah, just friends, you know how it is. You have to do these things,” came the reply.

Sheikh Hamaad remained silent and fixed his gentle gaze on the young man, something more than the loud T-shirt and hipster jeans told him that this young man had more than a spark of intelligence.

“Tell me, how many Valentine’s gifts do your sisters receive?”

“Hey, hey…. Moulana my sisters are not like that. They don’t do this boyfriend thing. My sisters… they are pure,” exclaimed the young man an angry frown crossing his face. “Just let the guy try and send my sisters one flower and I’ll make him eat it. You don’t know me!”

“Oh,” said Sheikh Hamaad without any apology, “and your mother, how many Valentine’s gifts does she get?”

The young man took a step back and glared at Sheikh Hamaad, “La howla wa….” his words swallowed by his anger, “how can you even say such things about my mother? My mother, she doesn’t do this stuff. She is like an angel. She is pure. How can you say this?”

The sheikh paused, waiting for the silence to absorb the boy’s anger, then said, tauntingly, “So they don’t receive any Valentine’s gifts or have boyfriend’s at all.”

“I told you, Moulana, my family is pure and they don’t do this junk stuff.”

Knowing the moment was right the Sheikh put forward his reasoning, “So you really don’t like your sisters receiving these gifts or having boyfriends.”

“No ways,” came the emphatic reply, “not on my life.”

“Then don’t you think,” Sheikh ventured, “that other people would also not like their sisters, mothers or aunts to receive such gifts. Just as you would like your sisters to remain pure, they would also like their sisters to be pure?”

The young man dropped his head and shifted his feet nervously, “You have a point, Moulana. Didn’t ever think of it like that. I don’t want to say…but you are right. I shouldn’t be polluting other people’s family if I don’t like my family to be polluted. This is all quite wrong isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s quite wrong,” without a hint of reprimand in his voice, “this is not our way.”

“But,” he asked, trying to conceal his embarrassment, “It’s not like we doing anything serious. I mean it’s only a gift. Not like we doing something physical…so it should be ok, no?”

Without disturbing his calmness, Sheikh Hamaad replied, “Do you like to go fishing?”

“Now you talking my language. Not a Sunday, not one, that we not by the dam,” he replied his hands waving with excitement, “We sit the whole day me and my buddies. First we prime the place with milie bombs. Just so the fish know we there. And they come, Moulana. They come for the bait. The whole lot, man….carpe, bass, barbell, you name it. But what’s that go to do with buying gifts.”

“When Shaytaan wants to trap someone,” Sheikh replied serenely, “he first puts some bait. Innocent stuff like gifts, the odd sms, just a hello and then when the time is right ….he will strike and how you say…you fall hook, line and sinker. Then he’s got you and it’s not long before he reels you in. So it starts with just a little bait. Just like the little gift that seems so innocent – it’s the bait.”

The young man beamed with this new found revelation and couldn’t wait to ask, “You are so right! And you have an amazing way of getting a point across Moulana, you didn’t just lecture me but you showed me how it is wrong. Thanks a mil. You must have learnt from a great teacher?”

“No doubt, I learnt from the best of all teachers,” Sheikh answered, “In fact, the best of all mankind…The Noblest Messenger of Allah- Rasulallah sallahu alaihi wa salam”

1. "We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth" (46:15).

2. "Thy Lord hath decreed that ye worship none but Him, and that ye be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in thy life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: ‘My Lord! bestow on them Thy Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood' "(17:23-24)

3. "We have enjoined on man and woman kindness to parents; but if they (either of them) strive (to force) thee to join with Me anything of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not'" (29:.

4. "We have enjoined on man and woman (to be good) to his/her parents; show gratitude to Me and to thy parents; to Me is (thy final) Goal. If they (parents) strive to make thee join in worship with Me things of which thou hast no knowledge, obey them not; yet bear them company in this life with justice (and consideration) and follow the way of those who turn to Me (in love)" (31:14-15).

The Hadith

1. The Prophet Muhammad said, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him: Your Heaven lies under the feet of your mother (Ahmad, Nasai).

2. A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari, Muslim).

3. Abu Usaid Saidi said: We were once sitting with Rasulullah when a man from the tribe of Salmah came and said to him: O Messenger of Allah! do my parents have rights over me even after they have died? And Rasulullah said: Yes. You must pray to Allah to bless them with His Forgiveness and Mercy, fulfill the promises they made to anyone, and respect their relations and their friends (Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah).

4. Abdullah ibn Amr related that the Messenger of Allah said: The major sins are to believe that Allah has partners, to disobey one's parents, to commit murder, and to bear false witness (Bukhari, Muslim).

5. It is narrated by Asma bint Abu Bakr that during the treaty of Hudaibiyah, her mother, who was then pagan, came to see her from Makkah. Asma informed the Messenger of Allah of her arrival and also that she needed help. He said: Be good to your mother (Bukhari, Muslim).